1999 in country music

"See also":
1998 in country music, 1999 in music, other events of 1999, 2000 in country music, 1990s in music and the List of years in Country Music

Events

*March 6 – Legendary performer George Jones, in the midst of a comeback this year, is seriously injured when he crashed his Lexus into a bridge. It is later revealed that alcohol was a factor in the accident, and he pleaded guilty to drunk driving charges.
*June – Comedian Jeff Foxworthy debuts his syndicated radio countdown show, "The Foxworthy Countdown."
*September 4 – Lonestar's hit, "Amazed," spends its eighth week at No. 1 on the "Billboard magazine" Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, becoming the first song to do so since Jack Greene's 1966 hit, "There Goes My Everything." In several other trade magazines, including "Radio & Records", "Amazed" reigns for nine weeks, which made it the longest-lasting Number One single since 1966's "Almost Persuaded" by David Houston. By year's end, "Amazed" is gaining popularity on CHR and adult contemporary stations (in re-mixed versions, which excised the steel guitar).

Top hits of the year

Number one hits

"(As certified by Billboard magazine)"
*¹ - No. 1 song of the year, as determined by "Billboard magazine"
*² - Song dropped from No. 1 and later returned to top spot.
*^A - First "Billboard" No. 1 hit for that artist.
*^B - Last "Billboard" No. 1 hit for that artist to date.
*^C - Only "Billboard" No. 1 hit for that artist to date.

Other major hits

*^A Reached #1 on U.S. "Gavin Report" country singles charts.
*^B Reached #1 on U.S. "Radio & Records" (now "Mediabase 24/7") country singles charts.

Top new album releases

*"Always Never the Same" — George Strait (MCA)
*"Breathe" — Faith Hill (Warner Bros.)
*"Classics" — Patty Loveless (Epic)
*"Cold Hard Truth" — George Jones (Elektra/Asylum)
*"D'lectrified" — Clint Black (RCA)
*"Emotion" — Martina McBride (RCA)
*"Everywhere We Go" — Kenny Chesney (BNA)
*"Fly" — Dixie Chicks (Monument/Sony)
*"Forget About It" — Alison Krauss (Rounder)
*"Garth Brooks and the Magic of Christmas" — Garth Brooks (Capitol)
*"How Do You Like Me Now?!" — Toby Keith (DreamWorks)
*"I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" — Mark Chesnutt (MCA)
*"" — Tracy Byrd (MCA)
*"Last Chance for a Thousand Years: Dwight Yoakam's Greatest Hits from the '90s" — Dwight Yoakam (Reprise)
*"LeAnn Rimes" — LeAnn Rimes (Curb)
*"Live, Laugh, Love" — Clay Walker (Giant)
*"Lonely Grill" — Lonestar (BNA)
*"Merry Christmas Wherever You Are" — George Strait (MCA)
*"Party Doll and Other Favorites" — Mary Chapin Carpenter (Columbia)
*"A Place in the Sun" — Tim McGraw (Curb)
*"" — Reba McEntire (MCA)
*"She Rides Wild Horses" — Kenny Rogers (Dreamcatcher)
*"Smoke Rings in the Dark" — Gary Allan (MCA)
*"So Good Together" — Reba McEntire (MCA)
*"Something in the Air" — Lila McCann (Asylum)
*"Tattoos & Scars" — Montgomery Gentry (Columbia)
*"Tightrope" — Brooks & Dunn (Arista)
*"Trio II" — Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, and Linda Ronstadt (Asylum)
*"Twentieth Century" — Alabama (RCA)
*"Two Teardrops" — Steve Wariner (Capitol)
*"Under the Influence" — Alan Jackson (Arista)
*"The Whole SHeBANG" — SHeDAISY (Lyric Street)
*"Who Needs Pictures" — Brad Paisley (Arista)

Other top albums

*"20 Greatest Hits" — Chris LeDoux (Capitol)
*"The Austin Sessions" — Kris Kristofferson (Atlantic)
*"Being Human" — Michael Peterson (Reprise)
*"Chad Brock" — Chad Brock (Warner Bros.)
*"Closer" — Susan Ashton (Capitol)
*"CMT All Access - Girls Night Out" — Sara Evans, Martina McBride, Mindy McCready & Lorrie Morgan (RCA)
*"Deryl Dodd" — Deryl Dodd (Columbia)
*"Drive Me Wild" — Sawyer Brown (Curb)
*"Duets Volume 1" — Patsy Cline (Mercury)
*"For the Record - 43 Legendary Hits" — Merle Haggard (BNA)
*"Full Western Dress" — The Derailers (Sire)
*"The Grass Is Blue" — Dolly Parton (Sugar Hill)
*"Greatest Bits" — Jeff Foxworthy (Warner Bros.)
*"Heart Shaped World" — Jessica Andrews (DreamWorks)
*"Hits" — Johnny Cash (Mercury)
*"Hits and Highways Ahead" — Lee Roy Parnell (Arista)
*"Home to You" — John Michael Montgomery (Atlantic)
*"How Lucky I Am" — Bryan White (Asylum)
*"I'm Not So Tough" — Mindy McCready (BNA)
*"I've Got a Right to Cry" — Mandy Barnett (Sire)
*"In Spite of Ourselves" — John Prine (Oh Boy)
*"It's About Time" — Tracy Byrd (RCA)
*"It's About Time" — Julie Reeves (Virgin)
*"Juddmental" — Cledus T. Judd (Razor & Tie)
*"The Life of the Party" — Neal McCoy (Giant)
*"Live in Texas" — Lyle Lovett (Curb)
*"Live with the Possum" — George Jones (Asylum)
*"Love in the Real World" — Sherrié Austin (Arista)
*"Make Up in Love" — Doug Stone (Atlantic)
*"A Man Ain't Made of Stone" — Randy Travis (DreamWorks)
*"Maybe Not Tonight" — Sammy Kershaw (Mercury)
*"" — Reba McEntire (MCA)
*"More..." — Trace Adkins (Capitol)
*"The Mountain" — Steve Earle & The Del McCoury Band (E-Squared)
*"My Heart" — Lorrie Morgan (BNA)
*"A Night to Remember" — Joe Diffie (Epic)
*"Old Dogs" — Old Dogs (Atlantic)
*"The Pilgrim" — Marty Stuart (MCA)
*"Play" — David Ball (Warner Bros.)
*"Revolutions" — The Great Divide (Atlantic)
*"Ride with Bob" — Asleep at the Wheel (DreamWorks)
*"Single White Female" — Chely Wright (MCA)
*"South Sixty-Five" — South Sixty-Five (Atlantic)
*"Steam" — Ty Herndon (Epic)
*"Stormy" — Hank Williams, Jr. (Curb)
*"" — The Mavericks (Mercury)
*"Suzy Bogguss" — Suzy Bogguss (Platinum)
*"That's the Truth" — Paul Brandt (Reprise)
*"Untamed" — Yankee Grey (Monument)
*"Western Wall — The Tucson Sessions" — Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris (Asylum)
*"What a Wonderful World" — Anne Murray (StraightWay)
*"What I Deserve" — Kelly Willis (Rykodisc)
*"Wildest Dreams" — John Berry (DreamWorks)
*"You Won't Ever Be Lonely" — Andy Griggs (RCA)

Deaths

*December 17 — Rex Allen, 78, "The Arizona Cowboy" and traveling rodeo performer.
*December 20 — Hank Snow, 85, "The Singing Ranger," best known for "I'm Movin' On."

Country Music Hall of Fame Inductees

*Johnny Bond (1915-1978)
*Dolly Parton (born 1946)
*Conway Twitty (1933-1993)

Major Awards

Grammy awards

*Best Female Country Vocal Performance -- "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!," Shania Twain
*Best Male Country Vocal Performance -- "Choices," George Jones
*Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal -- "Ready to Run," Dixie Chicks
*Best Country Collaboration with Vocals -- "After the Gold Rush," Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt
*Best Country Instrumental Performance -- "Bob's Breakdowns," Tommy Allsup, Asleep at the Wheel, Floyd Domino, Larry Franklin, Vince Gill and Steve Wariner
*Best Country Song -- "Come on Over," Shania Twain and Robert John "Mutt" Lange
*Best Country Album -- "Fly", Dixie Chicks
*Best Bluegrass Album -- "Ancient Tones", Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder

Academy of Country Music

*Entertainer Of The Year -- Shania Twain
*Song Of The Year -- "Amazed," Marv Green, Aimee Mayo
*Single Of The Year -- "Amazed," Lonestar
*Album Of The Year -- "Fly", Dixie Chicks
*Top Male Vocalist -- Tim McGraw
*Top Female Vocalist -- Faith Hill
*Top Vocal Duo Or Group -- Dixie Chicks
*Top New Male Vocalist -- Brad Paisley
*Top New Female Vocalist -- Jessica Andrews
*Top New Vocal Duo Or Group -- Montgomery Gentry
*Video Of The Year -- "Breathe," Faith Hill (Director: Lili Fini Zanuck)
*Vocal Event Of The Year -- "When I Said I Do," Clint Black with Lisa Hartman Black

Country Music Association

*Entertainer of the Year -- Shania Twain
*Song of the Year -- "This Kiss," Robin Lerner, Annie Roboff and Beth Nielsen Chapman
*Single of the Year -- "Wide Open Spaces," Dixie Chicks
*Album of the Year -- "A Place in the Sun", Tim McGraw
*Male Vocalist of the Year -- Tim McGraw
*Female Vocalist of the Year -- Martina McBride
*Vocal Duo of the Year -- Brooks & Dunn
*Vocal Group of the Year -- Dixie Chicks
*Horizon Award -- Jo Dee Messina
*Music Video of the Year -- "Wide Open Spaces," Dixie Chicks (Director: Thom Oliphant)
*Vocal Event of the Year -- "My Kind of Woman, My Kind of Man," Vince Gill and Patty Loveless
*Musician of the Year -- Randy Scruggs

Further reading

*Kingsbury, Paul, "The Grand Ole Opry: History of Country Music. 70 Years of the Songs, the Stars and the Stories," Villard Books, Random House; Opryland USA, 1995
*Kingsbury, Paul, "Vinyl Hayride: Country Music Album Covers 1947-1989," Country Music Foundation, 2003 (ISBN 0-8118-3572-3)
*Millard, Bob, "Country Music: 70 Years of America's Favorite Music," HarperCollins, New York, 1993 (ISBN 0-06-273244-7)
*Whitburn, Joel, "Top Country Songs 1944-2005 - 6th Edition." 2005.

Other links

*Country Music Association
*Inductees of the Country Music Hall of Fame

External links

* [http://www.cmaawards.com/2004/hof/default.asp Country Music Hall of Fame]